What is the hardest mineral in the world? | Reference.com What is the hardest mineral in the world? A: Quick Answer The hardest natural mineral in the world is lonsdaleite, a rare mineral made of carbon atoms. This mineral can withstand up to 58 percent more stress than diamond, according to a report by Jessica Griggs of NewScientist. Full Answer Lonsdaleite is very rare, which makes it difficult for scientists to gather samples for experiments. The mineral forms when graphite-containing meteorites come into contact with Earth. Lonsdaleite is similar to diamond, which was previously the hardest natural mineral known to man, but its carbon atoms are arranged in a different way. Despite its hardness, lonsdaleite may not be as useful as the second hardest natural mineral, wurtzite boron nitride, which withstands up to 18 more stress than diamond. This is because the wurtzite boron nitride is stable at higher temperatures. What Are the Strongest and Hardest Metals Known to Man? | Owlcation What Are the Strongest and Hardest Metals Known to Man? What Are the Strongest and Hardest Metals Known to Man?

Updated on November 18, 2015 Joined: 5 years agoFollowers: 137Articles: 60 Source Advertisement Which Metal Has the Most Tensile Strength or Hardness? Human technology progresses more and more every day. Modern industrial processes require materials capable of withstanding immense pressures while retaining their shape and integrity. For this, engineers generally turn to metals due to their wide availability and malleability. But what is the strongest metal, and just how strong is it? The answer to this question depends on how the question itself is framed. Does the practicality of using a metal in any significant amount count? Does it have to be a natural metal, or are alloys considered? What's the difference between strength and hardness? This article attempts to examine the multiple answers to this question, covering each metal with a claim to the title, and arguing its case. Note: For the sake of clarity, the 'strength' considered is tensile strength, which is how much force an object can withstand before warping, unless otherwise stated.

Tungsten | Source Advertisement The Strongest Natural Metal: Tungsten As far as pure metals go, tungsten has the highest tensile strength, with an ultimate strength of 1510 megapascals. Tungsten also has the honor of having the highest melting point of any unalloyed metal and the second highest melting point in the whole periodic table—only carbon can withstand hotter temperatures. Tungsten is very dense and brittle, making it difficult to work with in all but its purest forms. Tungsten is commonly used in electrical and military applications, and you may find tungsten filaments in light bulbs and tungsten coating that adds a real punch to projectiles. It is also a common component in steel and other alloys, where even a small amount can significantly increase the strength of the alloy. A megapascal (MPa) is a metric pressure unit, mostly used in hydraulic systems that gauge high pressure ratings, that equals 1,000,000 newtons per square meter (which is a pascal). 1 MPa is equal to 10 Bar.

Steel | Source Advertisement The Strongest Alloy: Steel Alloys are a constantly changing field, as researchers attempt to create ever-stronger combinations of elements. Generally, the strongest alloy is steel mixed with a few other elements. Vanadium steel alloys seem to be particularly promising, with several companies releasing variants with ultimate strengths of up to 5205 MPa. The steel that holds this distinction is called Micro-Melt® 10 Tough Treated Tool Steel. Steel itself is an alloy of iron and carbon, although other elements can also be used. Steel is a highly versatile alloy, meaning a form of it can be made to meet almost any specifications. Steel has been in use for millenniums but became a more exact science during the Renaissance (1300-1700). An alloy is a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements. This is usually done to achieve greater strength and/or resistance to corrosion. Chromium Advertisement The Hardest Metal: Chromium The 'hardness' of a mineral is generally determined by the Mohs scale and is defined as the scratch resistance of a mineral. Diamonds are the hardest minerals known to man, but what is the hardest metal?

That honor goes to chromium, a metal perhaps best known as the key ingredient in stainless steel. Chromium is also commonly used in chrome plating, which acts as a form of protection against corrosion and physical damage. Chromium has been recognized for its unique traits since the Qin Dynasty in China, when weapons and armor were coated with the metal and survive to this day, uncorroded and in perfect shape. Titanium | Source Advertisement The Most Useful Strong Metal: Titanium With an ultimate strength of about 434 MPa, titanium is the perfect blend of strength and practicality. Its low density makes it perfect for industrial uses requiring a strong metal with a high melting point. Indeed, titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any natural metal known to man. Pure titanium is stronger than standard steel, while being less than half the weight, and can be made into even stronger alloys. Because it is also fairly common, it's no wonder that titanium is used for a multitude of purposes. When it comes to manufacturing, the only strong natural metal worth caring about is titanium. These metals are the backbone of modern industry, providing the support that keeps our daily lives running smoothly.

Whether in the tip of a pen, on the fuselage of an airplane, or in the beams of a tall building, we rely on metals to protect us as we seek to progress ever further. We should consider ourselves lucky that, no matter what our needs, there is something in nature to cover them. Advertisement What mineral found in nature is the hardest known to man Name - PHSC - 210 View Full Document What mineral found in nature is the hardest known to man? Name some of the softer minerals known. Diamonds are the hardest. • What mineral is known for its characteristic taste (i.e., salty taste)? hailite • Why is color an unreliable diagnostic property of minerals? • Name some minerals with very high specific gravities. • What minerals are known for their perfect cleavage in one direction? What minerals are known for perfect cleavage in three directions? • Be able to define atomic number, atomic mass, protons, neutrons, and electrons. Also, know the following formula and be able to apply it: Atomic Mass = # of protons + # of neutrons. Atomic number - the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. The atomic number determines its chemical nature.

Atomic mass - Protons - Neutrons - Electrons - • Know the eight most common elements in the earth’s crust. Oxygen, aluminum, calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, iron, silicon • Also, know the different mineral groups (i.e., silicates feldspars, quartz, muscovite, and the clay minerals, carbonates - calcite, dolomite, sulfides Galena, sphalerite, Pyrite, Chalcopyrite, cinnabar, etc.). See Table 1.1 on page 39 for the non-silicate mineral groups. Which of the mineral groups is most common in the earth’s crust? oxygen Morris Textbook (Introduction and Chapters 1-2): • Be able to define the following: micro-evolution, macro-evolution, mutations, natural selection, punctuated equilibrium, uniformitarianism, neo-catastrophism, theistic evolution, progressive creation, framework hypothesis, and local flood theory. Micro evolution- large hypothetical changes which are thought to occur in an individual or in a population which follow a certain trait to be expressed to a greater or lesser degree than before; variation within a given category. This is regularly observed to occur within living populations.

Macro evolution- Small adaptations in a population of organisms which allow a certain trait to be expressed to a greater or lesser degree than before; variation within a given category. This is regularly observed to occur within living populations. This preview has intentionally blurred sections. Sign up to view the full version. View Full Document PHSC 210 Mutations- Changes in the genetic material of an organism, potentially expressed in offspring. Many times a single mutation affects more than one trait. While some are neutral, many are lethal. No beneficial mutations that add information to the genome have been observed. Natural selection- This is the end of the preview. Sign up to access the rest of the document. TERM PHSC 210 STUDY GUIDE: QUIZ 2 Concentrate your studies in the following areas. Questio Study_Guide_Quiz_2(1) Is Diamond the hardest thing known to man | CrazyEngineers Is Diamond the hardest thing known to man Engineering Discipline: Mechanical I know diamond is the hardest MINERAL known to man but is there any other material that is harder? I have read that Diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance. The things harder than diamond are all man-made i.e. synthetic.

One naturally occuring substance is "Lonsdaleite" ( or hexagonal diamond) which is harder than diamond. In nature, it forms when meteorites containing graphite strike the Earth. However it is just a different arrangement of carbon atoms. Engineering Discipline: Mechanical I have read about 'nano-diamonds' which are harder than bulk diamond. Nano-diamonds can be formed by placing graphite under high pressures. Can you give an example of a synthetic substance that is harder than diamond? A familiar one if any. And for what reason they have been used for cutting of glasses. any know the reason..? actually a girl's heart is the hardest thing known on the earth......... actually a girl's heart is the hardest thing known on the earth......... Click to expand... With a screen name like yours unlikely in your case at least. Probably more Amul Butter like. Quote:(PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called wurtzite boron nitride (w-BN) has a greater indentation strength than diamond.

The scientists also calculated that another material, lonsdaleite (also called hexagonal diamond, since it’s made of carbon and is similar to diamond), is even stronger than w-BN and 58 percent stronger than diamond, setting a new record. Endquote Computer Science bioramani said: ↑ With a screen name like yours unlikely in your case at least. Probably more Amul Butter like. Click to expand... lolzzzzzz........ good 1. m speechless...lol And for what reason they have been used for cutting of glasses. any know the reason..? Click to expand... For the obvious reason that diamond is harder than glass. So it scratches it. Actually diamond tipped tools are available to drill holes in glass. I have a much simpler method. You can easily drill glass (and concrete and ceramics) with just a hollow copper tool. File the tip into a rough saw tooth shape, make a paste of emery powder in water with some detergent and drill with the copper bit using this paste at the bit. The emery powder gets embedded in the soft copper. Being harder than glass, the powder bites into the glass. I have used it many times.

Even now I use it to drill drain holes in ceramic pots for bonsai use. New Synthetic Diamonds Are Hardest Gems Ever Created New Synthetic Diamonds Are Hardest Gems Ever Created By Jesse Emspak, Live Science Contributor | June 17, 2014 10:53am ET MORE To create a harder diamond, researchers used tiny particles of carbon, layered like onions, and subjected them to high temperatures and pressures. A model of a 10-shell "onion" carbon shown here. Credit: Nature, 10.1038/nature13381 Diamonds are the hardest naturally occurring minerals known to man. Even so, scientists are working to make them even tougher, in order to use the sparkling gems as tools for cutting. Now, a team of researchers, led by Yongjun Tian and Quan Huang at Yanshan University in China, has created synthetic diamonds that are harder, meaning they are less prone to deformation and breaking, than both natural and other man-made diamonds. To create these tougher-than-steel diamonds, the researchers used tiny particles of carbon , layered like onions, and subjected them to high temperatures and pressures.

The resulting diamonds had a unique structure that makes them more resistant to pressure and allows them to tolerate more heat before they oxidize and turn to either gas (carbon dioxide and monoxide) or ordinary carbon, losing many of their unique diamond properties. [ In Photos: 13 Mysterious & Cursed Gemstones ] First, a bit about diamonds: Gem-quality diamonds are single crystals, and they are quite hard. But artificial diamonds used on tools are harder still. That's because they are polycrystalline diamonds, or aggregates of diamond grains called domains, that measure a few micrometers or nanometers across. The grains help to prevent the diamond from breaking, as the boundaries act like small walls that keep chunks of diamond in place. The smaller the domains are, the stronger the diamond. Tian's team used the onionlike carbon nanoparticles to make diamonds with domains that are a few nanometers in size and are mirror images of each other. Such "nanotwinned" crystals are much harder than ordinary diamonds, by a factor of two. The team tested the artificial diamond's hardness by pressing a pyramid-shaped piece of diamond into the nanotwinned diamond.

Tian's group made a small indentation in their artificial diamond, applying pressures equivalent to nearly 200 gigapascals (GPa) — about 1.9 million atmospheres. An ordinary natural diamond would crush under just half that pressure. The team also tested how hot the nanotwinned diamond could get before oxidizing. In two different tests, they found that the ordinary diamond began to oxidize at about 1,418 and 1,481 degrees Fahrenheit (770 and 805 degrees Celsius), depending on the testing method. The nanotwinned diamonds didn't oxidize until they reached 1,796 or 1,932 F (980 or 1,056C). But not everyone is convinced by these results. Natalia Dubrovinskaia, a professor of material physics at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, said she doesn't trust the pressure tests. If what Tian's group is reporting is true, the indenter should have broken, because the material of the indenting tool is not as hard as the nanotwinned diamond, she told Live Science in an email.

Tian disagreed with Dubrovinskaia's assessment of the indenter. He said that it is possible to measure pressure on the nanotwinned diamond because the indenter was pushed from a vertical position and the amount of shearing force on it wasn't enough to damage it. Tian and Dubrovinskaia have "sparred" before; last year, the Yanshan lab said it demonstrated a similar phenomenon, making a form of ultrahard cubic boron nitride. At the time, Dubrovinskaia voiced similar concerns. Tian, meanwhile, stands by his work. "Indentation hardness of any material can be measured reliably using [a] diamond indenter when the indenter axis is exactly perpendicular to the smooth surface of [the] tested sample," he said. Another scientist, Ho-Kwang Mao, of Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, thinks Tian's work is valid; he noted that an indenter could reliably measure the hardness of materials much harder than itself. In addition, the novel part of the work is that such a hard material has been created in a way that can be readily reproduced. "They created a bulk material," Mao said.

"They succeeded in making this and making it harder than diamond — that's novel." The new study is detailed in the June 12 issue of the journal Nature. What is the Hardest Metal? (with pictures) What is the Hardest Metal? Originally Written By: Michael Anissimov Revised By: Bott Last Modified Date: 22 December 2016 Copyright Protected: These 10 facts about space will blow your mind The hardest known metal is steel alloy, which is often made even harder by adding carbon and other elements. With a tensile strength of 0.84 GPa (122,000 psi) and a yield strength of 0.64 GPa (67,000 psi), carbon steel is surpassed in hardness only by very hard nonmetals, such as rubies , diamonds, or aggregated diamond nanorods. Hardness is defined as the resistance of a matter to abrasion or indentation. The Mohs scale ranks elements according to comparative hardness, on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the hardest.

The best high-carbon steels rate an 8 to 9 on the scale, relative to ruby at 9 and diamond at 10. The hardest metals are still somewhat soft in comparison to the strongest nonmetals, based on the strongest bonds in chemistry, the sp2 bond between carbon atoms. Carbon Steel High-strength carbon steel goes through a process of tempering and annealing, which uses heat, to make it harder. While heat makes the metal stronger, it also makes it less ductile, meaning it is less able to bend and move when under stress. Carbon is also added to the steel, at which point the steel alloy metal becomes carbon steel, or strengthened steel, the hardest metal available. Carbon contents as great as 2 percent may be present in the hardest metal. Carbon steel is one of the most common types of steel, the other most common type being stainless steel. Due to it's high melting point of 2,800°F (1,537°C), most carbon steels are used in construction tools such as rock drills and construction dowels. Sometimes very hard metals, such as carbon steel, are undesirable because of their other properties; carbon steel, for instance, is notoriously prone to corrosion .

While it is the hardest metal, it is not necessarily the most useful material for every job. Other Hard Materials While often mistaken to be the hardest metal, tungsten carbide, is actually a composite material made of tungsten and carbon, often with cobalt added. It is used in both the military and for gun reloading equipment, and is also a popular choice for men's wedding rings. Iridium and titanium are also sometimes incorrectly called the hardest metals; though they are hard, they are not the hardest. Titanium has been used to build the world's deepest-diving submarines, however, and iridium is known to be the most corrosion-resistant metal. Chromium , which rates 8.5 on the Mohs scale, is also extremely hard, and is often added to alloy steels for this quality. Depleted uranium , the metal of choice for tank shells, is not harder than tungsten carbide or carbon steel but it is more dense, which is preferable for projectiles. The strongest single element is carbon, but only when it is in the form of a diamond. Ad anon945673 Post 68 Single wall carbon nanotube is the hardest material.

Young Modulus around 1-5 TPa, Tensile strength 13-53 GPa anon351286 Post 67 The hardest alloy probably CPM REX 121 steel, hardness achieved 72 RC. Hardest pure metal probably "beta tantalum", hardness Knoop is 1000-1300 HN. The hardest material is ADNR (aggregated diamond nanorod), Vickers hardness ~300 GPa. anon344476 Post 65 @ceramic tile guy: that's probably meant for home tile, like you would use on your floor. By ceramic standards, that's soft. To shape TC, you're best off using something with industrial diamond. anon319528 Would a cutting wheel for ceramic tile be right for cutting tungsten? anon287724 Post 62 Tungsten carbide is not a ceramic, is a metal alloy. Ceramics are defined by their composition and mixing method, and while tungsten carbide and carbon steel might have a few similarities to the definition of ceramic, they do not have enough to be even remotely classified as a ceramic.

Diamond is the hardest substance on earth (*not* a metal). The Americal Iron and Steel institute recognizes that some tungsten carbide alloys are the hardest (commercially viable/useful) metals. Now, just like there are elements that are man-made in the laboratory (that exist only for a short time), I am sure that there are or have been alloys constructed in labs that rival even the tungsten carbide alloys, but many, if not all, of these would most likely be impractical for any useful purpose base on any number of factors (brittle, dangerous/toxic, unstable, expensive, etc.). So, if we just consider common, useful materials, then tungsten carbide is the agreed-upon "winner". anon234741 Post 58 Elemental Tungsten (NOT tungsten carbide) is the hardest metal. In theory steel could be made harder than tungsten, but it'd be so brittle that it'd have so few applications, whereas tungsten is both hard, dense and ductile. Moderator's reply: On the Mohs scale, which is used in this article, tungsten has a hardness rating of 7.5. Other metals, like chromium, are higher.

idonsgh what is the alloy steel used in manufacturing drill pipes and drill collars? anon223716 Post 56 If you ask a Scientist/chemist they will say Tungsten is the hardest metal. Steel may be classified as a metal in the industry but if you go by the periodic table definition then steel is an alloy. And 1090 is not the hardest steel in any case. anon214064 Post 55 @Post 53: "pure diamond is the densest material known to man." Diamond is not dense. It has a density of 3.5 grams per cubic centimeter, compared to 1g/cc for water, 2.7 for aluminum or 4.5 for titanium. Steel hovers around 7.8, lead 11.3, gold 18.9, tungsten 19.3, osmium 22.6. Osmium, notably, is over 6 times as dense as diamond. Returning to the article. I'm a bit baffled by the claim that 1090 steel is the hardest metal.

It has a Brinell hardness when severely quenched of up to 600, which is about 57 on the Rockwell C scale. Tool steels (AISI M- or T-series) generally reside in the HRC 65-67 range. Maraging steels - which are vastly stronger than 1090 (up to 350,000psi) - have hardnesses in the same range as hard-quenched 1090, but with much greater toughness. Satellites also have a good reputation for hardness. As for the overall hardest metal? I'm not sure, because there are many obscure metals (i.e., rarely seen outside of a lab or niche applications) with which I'm not familiar. Heavy metals like tungsten (not tungsten carbide) can alloy into quite strong and probably hard alloys, and osmium is famously hard. I think its 4GPA hardness is off the Rockwell C chart, but don't quote me. @Post 11: "How high a temperature would you need to forge Alloy 1090?

Would you want the hottest flame to get the hardest steel?" Forging - specifically, the act of squishing a solid metal into a desired shape - can be done at room temperature, though higher temperatures may be preferable (if the forging die can handle it) because the metal is softer. For a metal like 1090, you'd probably want to forge it in a soft, annealed state to avoid the cracking you'd find in the fully-hardened state. Subsequently, you'd reheat the forged 1090 and then quench it to a desired temperature (the lower the quench temperature, the harder and more brittle the part). The problem with this approach is the unevenness of heat removal - thin outer sections will be cooled faster than thicker sections, resulting in uneven hardening. You're also likely to see some distortion in the part. The "hottest flame" doesn't matter. After a certain point, the metal will simply melt (and 1090 does not have an impressive melting point.) There are specific changes to metals' crystal structures (varying by alloy) that happen at certain temperatures and at certain speeds.

You pick the temperatures, heating rates, hold times, and cooling rates based on the alloy. The methods and conditions selected will differ enormously between alloys and desired properties: a carbon steel's austenitizing/quench-and-temper cycle is much different than the aging process used in maraging steels. Further, for a given alloy, you can often alter properties significantly by changing the heat treating (as I implied above about different cooling rates impacting hardness). anon205524 Post 54 Blah, blah, blah. Ignorance is to be found everywhere on "what is the hardest this or that article." There are several new alloys that are harder than the conventional 1090 carbon steel alloy. Check out any metal supplier and ask for harder than 1090 steel. Elemental tungsten is softer than several steel alloys, it's only the ceramics based on tungsten that are harder than steel alloys, by far. Osmium is not "the strongest." It's the densest, non-radioactive element (not metal alloy) known to man, and it's a metal. It is also the hardest element, but it is extremely brittle.

It's not "tough" (fracture resistant) at all compared to softer metals or alloys. Tungsten carbide is a carbide, and all carbides are ceramics, so tungsten carbide is not a metal. Tungsten carbide = WC : one atom of tungsten (W) for one atom of carbon (C) . Steel, for example, is one of many metals with a fine dispersion of carbides, but the amount of metal is so great in proportion to the amount of dispersed carbides (carbide is a ceramic) that it is still considered a metal alloy (carbon can be up to 2 percent in steel more or less). When you up the amount of carbide or any other ceramic in a metal alloy and you reach a certain limit, it is called a metal matrix or metal-ceramic-matrix material (engineering materials that are tough and hard for very specific use). Tungsten carbide is as much a metal as aluminum oxide a.k.a. alumina a.k.a. corundum a.k.a. ruby or sapphire (when found in nature), and everyone knows alumina is a ceramic, even if it's based on aluminum.

It doesn't mean because there's a metal in the formula that the end product is a "metal", and the example I gave shows it very well. anon196979 Post 53 pure diamond is the densest material known to man, however diamond has cracks in it so it is not invincible it is often brittle. The true strongest material on earth is super diamond. Super diamond has tiny bubbles in it which makes one crack only a small irritation and is extremely hard to destroy. anon160797 Diamond is the strongest substance but it is not a metal. anon138150 I thought that tungsten was the strongest metal. anon112352 How about titanium diboride and titanium aluminide alloys? anon81482 Post 29 People, stop posting whatever sounds right to you. Look up numbers in engineering sources. Pure Osmium can have a HRC of up to 64 which is higher than any other pure metal I found. It is true that it's not very tough because it's so brittle but it is the hardest. Really old metallurgy texts list 1090 as the hardest steel but modern high speed steels are much harder.

One high speed steel called Rex 121 has an HRC of over 70 when heat treated right. I'm sure it is possible to have even harder alloys. Finally, as other people have said, carbides are not metals. anon75019 KD11S Tool Steel has an HRC of about 61. anon72675 Tungsten carbide is a ceramic. Tungtsen is a metal, not an oxide or carbide or whatever; these are ceramics. And tungsten carbide is not the hardest ceramic. It's only one of the most. Osmium isn't "tough" at all, it's very hard and brittle. Iridium is used much more often than osmium for pen tips. And it's not for toughness, but for hardness and wear properties. If you don't believe me, just check out any recent ceramics engineering book. anon66407 Post 26 What about weight? Which metal would be ideal choice, say, for a customized Land Rover Defender? (spare no expense) anon64736 Post 25 Actually tungsten carbide pressed into a solid form is the strongest metal you can find.

No steel even comes close. Unless they made some kind of mythic discovery, the hardest steel can be is Rockwell 58 if even that high; it might only be a 56. I can't remember. anon62866 Post 24 Titanium is not the strongest metal. It is often thought of as the strongest but actually it has one of the highest strength to weight ratios. I.e., for a metal that is so light-weight, it is extremely strong. Typically it has a ultimate tensile strength of up to 170,000 psi. Another unique property is that its strength does not deteriorate in high temperature applications. This makes it ideal for use in aerospace, especially engine components. There are many metals much stronger than this. Two stainless steels that come to mind are 17-4PH and 15-5PH which can achieve Ftu of 180,000 to 200,000 psi through heat treatment. Inconel 625 which is used in the aerospace industry, typically in the production of high-strength fasteners used in critical joints can achieve ultimate shear strengths of 220,000 psi.

Intermediate alloy steels such as 5Cr-Mo-V has an Ftu of up to 280 ksi. Also low alloy steel such as AISI 4130 used in aircraft landing gear has extremely high bearing strength, tensile and compression strength. Source(s): hamza Post 23 the melting point for normal titanium is 3034f, and the boiling point is 5949f. But titanium carbide is much harder lighter less brittle and doesn't rust. Titanium carbide is ranked 9-9.5 on the mohs scale and its density is 4.93 g/cm3. Titanium carbide's melting point and melting point only is 5720f -- almost as much as normal titanium's boiling point. And, titanium carbide's boiling points is a staggering 8708f. Yes, normal titanium is much weaker than carbon or high carbon steel but when you add carbon to titanium, then you have what i think is the world's strongest, lightest metal. anon54741 For what temperature alloy steel will be used in process piping?

anon44073 Post 17 what can I use to make a knife that I can find around the shop? I'm looking for carbon and nickel. anon43511 Post 15 1090 is not by any means the hardest metal or even the hardest steel. 1090 is very ductile, and in the normalized, quenched and tempered state, has a very high modulus of elasticity. This alloy is primarily used for springs. Maximum attainable Rockwell "c" scale is about 42. I know this because I am a tool and die maker and federally certified. anon36851 Post 14 What are the difference between carbon steel and mild steel. advantage and disadvantage, strength and others. thanks anashenwrath Post 11 How high a temperature would you need to forge Alloy 1090? Would you want the hottest flame to get the hardest steel? MacAoda The melting temperature of titanium is 1820F 3308C anon19520 haha..

DragonForce is a metal band anon6134 Post 3 So, you mean to tell me that Dragonforce is not the hardest metal known to man? FireBird 1668°C. Lots of element properties can be found at chemicalelements and webelements. anon2902 Scientists Discover Material Harder Than Diamond Scientists Discover Material Harder Than Diamond February 12, 2009 By Lisa Zyga A diamond ring. Scientists have calculated that wurtzite boron nitride and lonsdaleite (hexagonal diamond) both have greater indentation strengths than diamond. Source: English Wikipedia. (PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, diamond is regarded to be the hardest known material in the world. But by considering large compressive pressures under indenters, scientists have calculated that a material called wurtzite boron nitride (w-BN) has a greater indentation strength than diamond. The scientists also calculated that another material, lonsdaleite (also called hexagonal diamond, since it’s made of carbon and is similar to diamond), is even stronger than w-BN and 58 percent stronger than diamond, setting a new record.

This analysis marks the first case where a material exceeds diamond in strength under the same loading conditions, explain the study’s authors, who are from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The study is published in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters. “The new finding from our results is that large normal compressive pressures under indenters can transform certain materials (such as w-BN and lonsdaleite) into new superhard structures that are harder than diamond,” coauthor Changfeng Chen from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told PhysOrg.com. “This is a new mechanism that can be used to design new superhard materials.” Join PhysOrg.com on Facebook The scientists explain that the superior strength of w-BN and lonsdaleite is due to the materials’ structural reaction to compression. Normal compressive pressures under indenters cause the materials to undergo a structural phase transformation into stronger structures, conserving volume by flipping their atomic bonds. The scientists explain that w-BN and lonsdaleite have subtle differences in the directional arrangements of their bonds compared with diamond, which is responsible for their unique structural reaction.

Under large compressive pressures, w-BN increases its strength by 78 percent compared with its strength before bond-flipping. The scientists calculated that w-BN reaches an indentation strength of 114 GPa (billions of pascals), well beyond diamond’s 97 GPa under the same indentation conditions. In the case of lonsdaleite, the same compression mechanism also caused bond-flipping, yielding an indentation strength of 152 GPa, which is 58 percent higher than the corresponding value of diamond. “Lonsdaleite is even stronger than w-BN because lonsdaleite is made of carbon atoms and w-BN consists of boron and nitrogen atoms,” Chen explained. “The carbon-carbon bonds in lonsdaleite are stronger than boron-nitrogen bonds in w-BN. This is also why diamond (with a cubic structure) is stronger than cubic boron nitride (c-BN).” Until recently, normal compressive pressures under indenters have not been included in the calculations of ideal shear strengths of crystals from first principles, but latest developments have enabled researchers to consider their effects, resulting in surprising discoveries like the one shown here.

Still, experimenting with w-BN and lonsdaleite will be challenging, since both materials are difficult to synthesize in large quantities. However, another recent study has taken a promising approach to producing nanocomposites of w-BN and c-BN, which may also provide a way to synthesize nanocomposites containing lonsdaleite and diamond. In addition, by showing the underlying atomistic mechanism that can strengthen some materials, this work may provide new approaches for designing superhard materials. As Chen explained, superhard materials that exhibit other superior properties are highly desirable for applications in many fields of science and technology. “High hardness is only one important characteristic of superhard materials,” Chen said. “Thermal stability is another key factor since many superhard materials need to withstand extreme high-temperature environments as cutting and drilling tools and as wear, fatigue and corrosion resistant coatings in applications ranging from micro- and nano-electronics to space technology. For all carbon-based superhard materials, including diamond, their carbon atoms will react with oxygen atoms at high temperatures (at around 600°C) and become unstable. So designing new, thermally more stable superhard materials is crucial for high-temperature applications.

Moreover, since most common superhard materials, such as diamond and cubic-BN, are semiconductors, it is highly desirable to design superhard materials that are conductors or superconductors. In addition, superhard magnetic materials are key components in various recording devices.” More information: Pan, Zicheng; Sun, Hong; Zhang, Yi; and Chen, Changfeng. “Harder than Diamond: Superior Indentation Strength of Wurtzite BN and Lonsdaleite.” Physical Review Letters 102, 055503 (2009). Copyright 2009 PhysOrg.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of PhysOrg.com. Titanium phosphate displays unusual transformations at high pressure November 8, 2016 Scientists at DESY and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility ESRF have discovered a new and very unusual form of phosphorus compound. In high-pressure experiments, a team led by Dr. Maxim Bykov from the University of ...

'Pressure-welding' nanotubes creates ultrastrong material November 8, 2016 Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials (TISNCM), Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), and the National University of Science ... Researchers surprised at the unexpected hardness of gallium nitride October 28, 2016 Gallium nitride (GaN) has emerged as one of the most important and widely used semiconducting materials. Its optoelectronic and mechanical properties make it ideal for a variety of applications, including light-emitting diodes ... Superhard carbon material could crack diamond December 7, 2011 (PhysOrg.com) -- By applying extreme pressure to compress and flatten carbon nanotubes, scientists have discovered that they can create a new carbon polymer that simulations show is hard enough to crack diamond. The pressure-induced ...

Under pressure: Ramp-compression smashes record November 11, 2011 In the first university-based planetary science experiment at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), researchers have gradually compressed a diamond sample to a record pressure of 50 megabars (50 million times Earth's atmospheric ... Squeezing Information from Materials under Extreme Pressure May 31, 2010 (PhysOrg.com) -- By compressing tiny amounts of material between two diamond anvils, scientists have for more than three decades been able to achieve pressures of over 1 million atmospheres. The physical changes and phase ... Recommended for you Magnetic recording with light and no heat on garnet January 19, 2017 A strong, short light pulse can record data on a magnetic layer of yttrium iron garnet doped with Co-ions. This was discovered by researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands and Bialystok University in Poland. ... Studying the quantum vacuum: Traffic jam in empty space January 18, 2017 An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz.

The team of scientists headed by Professor Alfred Leitenstorfer has now shown how to manipulate the ... Molecular fountain my lead to more precise measurement of physical constants January 18, 2017 (Phys.org)—A team of researchers at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has built, for the first time, a molecular fountain. The group has published a paper in the journal Physical Review Letters describing how they created the ... Improved measurements of antiproton's magnetic moment deepen mystery of baryonic asymmetry January 18, 2017 One of the deepest mysteries of physics today is why we seem to live in a world composed only of matter, while the Big Bang should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. Around the world, scientists including ... Discovery could lead to jet engines that run hotter—and cleaner January 17, 2017 Researchers here have made a discovery in materials science that sounds like something from the old Saturday morning cartoon Super Friends: They've found a way to deactivate "nano twins" to improve the high-temperature properties ...

Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states January 17, 2017 Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity to observe particle properties that have no realization in elementary ... Top 10 Hardest Materials | REALITYPOD Top 10 Hardest Materials Anonyzious 30 August, 2011 Diamond is widely believed to be the hardest known material to man, but is it really the case? What are the other hard materials apart from diamond? Well, today our list will answer these questions for you. No 10. Alumina Alumina is a common name for Aluminum Oxide, which is an amphoteric oxide and is more even more commonly known as Corundum in its crystalline form. Alumina in its alpha phase is the strongest and stiffest of the oxide ceramics; alpha phase is the most stable hexagonal phase achieved at high temperatures. Alumina is used in gas laser tubes, electronic substrates, ballistic armor and grinding media.

Varieties of alumina exist and the more known of them are Ruby and Sapphire which are categorized based on impurities as well as color. No 9. Boron carbide This is an extremely hard ceramic material most notably used in tank armor and bulletproof vests. It finds its use in padlocks, neutron absorber in nuclear reactors, high energy fuel for solid fuel Ramjets and anti-ballistic armor plating. No 8. Zirconium carbide Appearing as a gray metallic powder Zirconium carbide is an extremely hard refractory ceramic material, commercially used in tool bits for cutting tools. Zirconium Carbide along with Zirconium Oxide are known as modern ceramics and is extremely hard, wear resistant, and chemically inert. No 7. Titanium diboride Titanium Diboride is an extremely hard material with very good high temperature corrosion resistance. It is a ceramic and therefore is a material of high interest due to being electrically conductive. Titanium diboride is more than three times strong the strongest steel available.

Prev1 of 3 Next Diamond - The Hardest Metal | Know Your Meme Diamond - The Hardest Metal Updated Jan 23, 2010 at 03:32PM EST by Shii . Added Jan 17, 2010 at 12:48PM EST by Shii . Like us on Facebook! PROTIP: Press 'i' to view the image gallery, 'v' to view the video gallery, or 'r' to view a random entry. This submission is currently being researched & evaluated! You can help confirm this entry by contributing facts, media, and other evidence of notability and mutation. Status catchphrase , 4chan , hardest , metal , gamefaqs About Diamonds being portrayed as the “hardest metal” is both a textual and image meme referencing a particularly dense discussion on the GameFAQs forum. Diamond, an allotrope of carbon, is the hardest known material on Earth, with a rating of 10 on the Mohs Scale of mineral hardness . Because diamond is an insulator rather than a conductor of electricity, it is not classified as a metal.

Origin In 2005 a bunch GameFAQs users had an argument about what would happen to cars that smashed into various walls. One user argued that a car could take anything if it were made of diamond, unless of course if the wall were also made of diamond. He smugly informed his fellow GameFAQer that “Diamond is one of the hardest metals (If not THE hardest metal) known the man.” [sic] The conversation was thus brought to a conclusion. Spread Some months later, 4chan stumbled upon this argument and made nearly every single sentence of it into hilarious catchphrases. References

Question: What is the hardest mineral known to man
Answer: Diamond